WASHINGTON, D.C. — Productivity for U.S. workers and businesses dropped 7.5-percent in the first quarter of 2022. It's the biggest decline since 1947.
Thursday the U.S. Labor Department released new data that also reported an 11.6-percent increase in labor costs. That is a measure of how much a business pays its workers.
It's the biggest jump in labor costs since the summer of 2020.
The numbers reveal how competition for workers has pushed up wages. They also reflect ongoing supply-chain shortages.
